


Persuasive

by XIIIthNobody



Category: RWBY
Genre: Consensual Mind Control, Deviates From Canon, F/M, Getting Together, Hypnotism, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Past Abuse, Trust, Trust Kink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-12-09 11:09:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20993837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XIIIthNobody/pseuds/XIIIthNobody
Summary: Roman doesn't have a semblance? That's fine, he's a smooth talker anyway.





	Persuasive

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happens when my friends and I get to talking about what Roman's semblance COULD be if he had unlocked it.
> 
> And since Qrow has misfortune, why not let Roman have charisma? 
> 
> Neo certainly isn't complaining. 
> 
> (The referenced abuse is Very minimal it's just what-ifs about Neo's unknown past before Roman)

She'd seen him use it on others of course, to coerce favors or lien from otherwise unwilling clients or similar.   
There was a certain rawness to it that you only began to pick up after hearing it time after time, undirected at yourself. Rough, digging in to the very core, needling its way in there with a layer of honey spread over to soften the bite.

The authorities were so stupid. Dumb cops, as she'd watched him scrawl across the planning map, dumb cops indeed. They had reported Roman Torchwick as a common petty thief, with no morals, and no semblance, destined to rot in the seedy underbelly of society where he belonged.

But she knew different. He was cunning, clever, able to talk his way out of virtually any situation with nary a scratch on his name. And the times he was caught and shown as a warning all over the news? Mere publicity. You couldn't be a king of crime without people knowing who you are, after all. 

Neo sat next to him at the counter of an out of the way pub they had managed to find for the night, and he was staring at his scroll intently, waiting for some new intel to come in, absently tapping at the countertop between them. 

"If some people could just...come on, I was supposed to have this information three hours ago, what's a guy gotta do to get responsible goons around here??" 

Neo tapped him on the shoulder, gestured around them at the other patrons of the pub once he was looking, and mimed talking with a flourish, staring at him pointedly. 

"You do have a good point there, Neo...I'll be back in a moment, watch my drink, I don't know who we can trust around here."

She smiled, pointing at herself, questioningly. 

"I trust you to the end, you wouldn't find it beneficial to poison me /before/ a successful heist anyway."

A grin, alarmingly predatory for such a small woman, was his only answer. 

He smiled in return, heading off to round up some new recruits with some well chosen words and a hint of suggestion. 

\- - - - 

Later that night, back in their room upstairs at the pub (lavishly accessorized, the owner had been in a generous mood after a brief discussion), Roman was tapping away at his scroll vigerously, finalizing plans for the next day's heist, before tossing it across the desk, slumping back in his chair with a loud groan. 

"Finally on track, that took way too lo-" 

And he stopped, looking up at his partner, upside down from his position, as she had come up behind him, placing delicate fingers on his shoulders, massaging deep into the tense tissue of his back. He'd been working way too hard. 

"Neo?"

She mimicked the talking motion she'd done earlier, but pointed at herself this time, a little smile on her face. 

"You want me to...on you?' 

A nod in response. 

"But you know how it works. It takes away all control. I couldn't do that to you, not after everything you've been through." 

She held up her hands, stopping him.   
And then signed *Trust*   
And waited. 

"If you're sure..."

'I want to feel what it's like. To give control to someone I trust. To someone I know won't ever hurt me.'

"I would never."

'And that's why I trust you to do this to me'

She stepped back, giving him space, small smile still lingering on her face, waiting for his next move.

And then he stood, an odd look in his visible eye. Turning the chair around from where he'd been sitting, he made direct eye contact with her.   
There it was.  
That warm, raw feeling, sweet overlayed on deadly. 

~"Have a seat, Neo."~

She walked forward, feeling almost as if her feet weren't making contact with the floor, light and floating, observing from behind her eyes, but at a distance. 

She felt so at ease, a light tingle running through her skin, and she turned and sat, aware of him standing just to the side, not close enough to touch.   
A bit rude, really.

~"You've given me a dangerous amount of power over you right now, you know that, right?"~ 

Sugar and venom together, and she shivered, nodding. 

~"I have complete control over whatever I want."~

He reached out a hand, lightly holding her chin, turning her face towards his own. 

Her face was flushed, and in the back of her mind, the little voice she had left in her thoughts was panicking, but she trusted him, she wanted to test him to be sure. 

Roman leaned in, breath warm on her face, washing gently over her lips, the distance minimal. 

~"And do you know what I would like you to do for me?"~

Neo's eyes lit up with a light pink haze, anticipating. 

~"Wake up."-

And it was like she had been pulled from a rushing river, gasping, reaching out to hold onto his arms, careful not to get too close. 

They stared at each other for a moment, and then she pulled herself up to his shoulders, kneeling up on the chair, drawing him in for a tight hug.   
Her heart thudded against her chest, beating a rhythm into his skin as he held her close, and she leaned up to his ear, resting her head on his shoulder. 

The quietest of voices left her lips, ghosting against his ear, a gentle thank you murmured almost inaudibly into his skin. 

"I promise, from here on out, I will never, ever hurt you. Strike me down if you ever feel unsafe." 

He drew back, only a short distance, and gently slid a warm hand over her flushed cheek. 

"Can I ask you to trust me once more?" 

And tossing all her barriers aside, Neo acted first, kissing him sweetly, finally for the first time in years, feeling safe in someone's arms. 

If all she had in life was one person to trust and protect, then that wasn't a very bad life at all.

Y'know.

Being criminals aside.

**Author's Note:**

> I can't end fics seriously bye


End file.
